I Know We're Cool
by Amused Rebel
Summary: SPD. future 10 yrs Z reminisces about the past and finally settles things between her and Jack.
1. Chapter 1

I'm only doing this because I'm extremely bored. And this song is always stuck in my head.

- Mel

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except their kids (later on). Don't own the song either (also later on).

(Flashbacks in italics)

27-year-old Elizabeth Carson-Delgado stood outside on her deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean. She had her elbows propped up on the railing while she was lost in deep thought. Thoughts so deep that she barely noticed the gorgeous sunset that lay ahead. Everything over the past few years had come too quickly, almost like a blur. She almost couldn't believe it. She never would have expected it to turn out like this. She had gone from a common thief who lived on the streets to a caring, passionate wife and mother.

She reminisced all the time about how it all started. And it all led back to that certain place.

_Two homeless teenagers sat in a downtrodden alley. After finding a sturdy crate to sit on, the girl, Z, spoke up first. _

"_Jack," referring to her partner, "we've been on the streets a long time together. I mean, you're my best friend, you're like my brother." She paused to change the look on her face. And her tone of voice suddenly modeled a Brooklyn accent. "And brotha, afta five years of doin this, I say we change careers. I mean, I'm tired of playin Robin Hood.-"_

_She was cut off by a homeless alien being in search of any item the couple had left to offer. After denying her of any clothes, Jack began to feel sorry for her and offered her his jacket._

_At this point, Z became frustrated and stood up. She eyed him for an answer as to why he had done that. Jack began sputtering excuses left and right. Finally, he gave in. "Okay, okay, you're right." He stated. "We need to do something else." She backed down._

"_If we're going to make a change, then we're going to have to be part of something bigger."_

Little did she know that 'something bigger' would turn out to mean something much, much bigger than anything that had ever happened to her.

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I had to divide it up because it just seems toorushed all together. Hope you like it. - Mel


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second part. Oh, and the ages are: Sky- 31, Syd- 28, Z & Bridge- 27, Jack- 29 (10 yrs in the future)

Swiftly and carefully, someone sneaked up behind Elizabeth. He reached up to put his arms around her. As soon as she felt his soft, soothing touch, she snapped back into reality. She knew her husband's touch all too well. And it wasn't hindered any longer by his leather gloves.

"Hi there, honey. Watcha doin?" Even to this day, he still had the ability to lighten the mood at just a few simple words.

"Nothing." She said smiling back at him. "Just thinking about something. That's all."

He knew exactly what she was talking about and dropped his chin a little bit. He still felt kinda guilty for what he had done. But in the process, he had found the love of his life.

"There's no need to analyze anything now. Everything worked out just fine. Look at what you've got. You've got me. You've got little Zach. You've got great friends. Not to mention a strong marriage, a nice waterfront home, beautiful view,-" Elizabeth stopped him short by pressing a finger to his lips. After he got the message, she pulled it away and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Thanks, I could have gone on forever."

"You're welcome." She smiled and giggled. That was another thing about Bridge. He always knew how to make her laugh. Maybe she had made the right decision.

"Oh, that reminds me. Syd called." She had almost forgotten.

"And..."

"She said that she was planning for us all to have a get-together at the park. Ya know, to celebrate the anniversary of Gruumm's defeat and all." She managed to spit out in one breath.

"Is everyone gonna be there?"

"Yup. The whole gang."

"What about Jack?"

Elizabeth knew that he felt guilty about 'stealing' Z away from him. He was more like a brother to her than anything else. She just couldn't look at it that way.

"Yes. Even Jack. It's about time we talked to him again. He'll kill me for not calling."

Bridge managed out a laugh.

He brought her into a warm hug and whispered into her ear. "Sounds like fun."

Finally, the weekend had come. The babysitter had been taken care of and the car was packed and ready to go. The former Power Rangers gathered at New Tech City park.

All had made it there on time except for one. Jack. He wasn't there yet. Elizabeth shook it off and put it in the back of her mind. After all this was supposed to be fun, right?

"Hey Z!" Syd practically screamed and threw herself into Z's arms."Long time no see. So how've you been?"

"Pretty good. Wow. I can't believe it. Zach's gonna be four in a couple of weeks. And Bridge is the same. As usual." Both girls burst into laughter. "So how are you and Sky doing? Any more kids I should know about?"

Syd playfully slapped Z on the arm. "Well let's see. Our oldest, Jess, is already eight. Then there's the twins, Madeleine and Michael, who turned four a few months ago. And currently, I'm six weeks pregnant with our fourth."

"Congratulations!" Z squealed. 'Wow.' she thought to herself. 'Will they ever stop?' She laughed inwardly.

Over with Sky and Bridge, things were going equally as well.

"Hey man." they greeted each other with a hand shake and a hug.

"So, uh, are you enjoying life outside the academy?" Bridge started.

"Oh yeah. No stupid rules or handbooks to follow." Sky said.

Bridge suddenly clutched his head and fell over in mock fainting.

Sky immediately thought something was wrong and rushed to his aide. "Bridge, are you okay? Bridge, answer me?"

"Ha. Fooled ya." Bridge joked. He sprung up from where he was laying and bolted in the other direction.

Sky sheepishly blushed from the embarrassment. Then, he realized what happened. "Wait up, Carson. I'm gonna get you for that." He shook his fist for emphasis.

Bridge turned around to look back at Sky. He quickly ran over to where the girls were standing and hid behind Z.

"Coward..." Sky muttered half under his breath and half out of breath. Syd just laughed. He went over to where she was and wrapped his arms around her and began to rub her growing stomach.

"I take it your talk went well." Z stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Sky just rolled his eyes. Typical.

"Wasn't Jack supposed to be here?" Sky inquired before kissing Syd on the side of her neck.

Syd piped up. "Yea, I thought so."

"Look. There he is now." Z spotted him from the other side of the park as he slowly made his way out of his car and onto the green grass of the park. But wait- he was with a woman. To the naked eye she was almost a perfect match to Z. She was a Latina, the only difference being her longer brown hair. For a second, she couldn't help but think about how 'something bigger' had changed their lives forever. That something was SPD. It had brought all of them together. As Bridge would say, 'Think about it. I mean why are we all here?' She knew why there were all joined there. And she would never forget it, too.

**It's hard to remember how it felt before  
Now I found the love of my life  
Passes things, get more comfortableEverything is going right**

He finally had made his way across the lawn. "Hey guys." he chirped. None of them, except Z, had ever seen him this happy before. "This is my girlfriend Marissa. Marissa, these are my best friends in the entire world. Sky and Syd, and Bridge and Z." Z could sense the resentment in his voice at 'Bridge and Z' and she knew this facade couldn't last much longer. Or was it a facade? Maybe he had genuinely accepted that they were married now.

"Nice to meet you." Marissa smiled and seemed happy to meet them. Instantly, she was pulled away by Syd who started to ask her about a million questions. Z gestured over to Bridge with a 'can-you-go-now-so-I-can-talk-to him-alone' look. He understood and began to talk to Sky once more. That left Z and Jack alone.

"So, um, you seem quite happy with Marissa. She seems to be the one for you." Z choked out.

"Yeah. She's nice. But never as caring as you could ever be." He gently reached up and cupped her chin with his hand. She instantly jerked away.

"Haven't you figured out that you can't have me? I mean, I'm married now, Jack. It just wouldn't be right. I see you as my brother, and I just can't let that happen between us. Ever." She added the 'ever' just for emphasis.

"And I have finally come to accept that, Z."

"You what?" she reacted before she even understood what he said. "I mean, you," she stuttered "you understand?"

"Yes. I will always love and respect you and your wishes. I always have."

Z burst into tears and reached out to hug and embrace Jack. "So, are we cool now?" Z choked between sobs.

"I know we're cool."

**And after all the obstacles  
It's good to see you now with someone else  
And it's such a miracle that you and me are still good friends  
After all that we've been through  
I know we're cool**

**And I'll be happy for you  
If you can be happy for me  
Circles and triangles  
And now we're hanging out with your new girlfriend  
So far from where we've been  
I know we're cool**

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That's it. Just something short and sweet. - Mel


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, I gave in. One more chapter for you guys. Thank you for the reviews.

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Elizabeth stood in awe as the world seemed to come to a halt while hugging Jack. As she let go of him, the world around her seemed to brighten. Her perspective on life had done a complete 360.

No more resentment from Jack which, in turn, meant no more hard feelings toward Bridge. After all, it had seemed like such a long time since he had asked Jack for permission to marry her. That day, Bridge was so nervous and unsure of himself. He never expected that Jack would choose to let go of the only person he considered family. All these years, Z was the only one who knew how Jack really felt. She could see the pain in his eyes that day. She could hear the bitterness in his voice as he forced out, 'Sure, man. She deserves someone like you. Go ahead. You can have her. I mean, you can tell that she loves you. Go ahead." She also noticed that he was on the verge of tears. Bridge was too elated to notice. Even on her wedding day, she asked Jack if he was okay with it. Same response.

_As he walked her down the aisle, she turned her head to look at him. He saw the look of doubt in her eyes. He nodded and smiled. He had himself convinced that he was okay with it. _

Now she was relieved to clear the air between herself and Jack. She truly believed that, now, he had truly found the love of his life. At first, he had looked to find someone to replace Z. But in the process, he had found a woman who very much resembled Z in looks, but not in personality. Marissa fit him perfectly. She was sweet and girly, gorgeous and preppy. Of course, she had a bit of an athletic side, being a professional dancer. That was what Jack had always wanted - a beauty queen who could take care of herself, kinda like Syd. One time, he even tried to hook up with her. But that was deemed impossible after the first try.

_One afternoon, Syd and Bridge sat in the common room. Syd, reading the latest fashion magazine and Bridge, fixing some gadget (No one knew what it was. Heck, they couldn't even pronounce it correctly.) She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Jack had entered the room._

"_Hey, Syd. Can I talk to you for a second?"_

"_Why?" She sounded a little irritated._

"_It's important."_

"_Well whatever it is, shoot." Now she was annoyed. She had just gotten to the exclusive interview with her favorite fashion designer and it could **not** wait. _

"_Well, okay . . . I was wondering . . . um . . . would you like to go out with me sometime?"_

"_No." That was blunt enough and to the point, she thought._

"_Are you sure, I mean-"_

"_No."_

"_Why not?" He was dumbfounded._

"_Because I said so. Now please, can you leave me alone while I read my magazine in peace, please. Thanks." She was not going to give in. Everyone (but apparently not Jack) knew the real reason she didn't accept. She was waiting for someone else, namely a certain blue ranger to return her feelings first._

"_Okay. So I guess I'll see you around." He turned to leave. Once the metal doors were shut, Bridge broke out into a huge grin. Syd couldn't help but notice._

"_What're you smiling at?" She snapped._

"_I know why you said no. Admit it. You're still holding out for Sky. Aren't you?" He said in a suggestive manner. _

_All Syd could do was blush, but boy did she blush._

Speaking of Syd, holding out for Sky was apparently the best possible thing to do. He worked up the courage to ask her out about 3 days after they had defeated Grumm. During their last battle, he had saved her from being 'vaporized' by Morgana. The other members of their team had noticed what he had done for her. It was unusually characteristic of him.

That sparked a sudden passion between them, and he figured that it was time to tell her how much he loved her. The next day they went out on their first date. Once everyone at the Academy found out, they were saying things like, "They're finally together. It took them long enough." This just received a chuckle from both of them.

After their first few dates, Sky and Syd's relationship had begun to take off. They were inseparable. Syd had always brought out the good qualities in Sky. He had actually come out of his shell. A lot. It was almost to the point that people believed he was a completely different person. He would say hi to random people while walking down the hallway, hang out with the team, and he even became friends with Jack

A few weeks later, the team, now promoted to A-squad, had the option to remain at SPD as officers or graduate with the honor of defeating the universe's greatest villain. For Sky and Syd, things took a different turn when Syd announced to the team that she was pregnant. Not that it mattered, battle-wise, since there was little to no criminal activity since the defeat of Gruumm. Although it had broken many rules that resulted immediate dismissal form the Academy, Cruger decided to let her stay and graduate instead. Sky chose to remain at the Academy until the baby was born. Once he left and Jess was born, they were married later that spring, coincidentally, at the park in New Tech City.

But enough about Syd and Sky. Z had her own fairytale life now.

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That night as she lay in bed trying to sleep, she remembered how wonderful she had felt since she had married Bridge. She never had to worry about him ridiculing her or making her feel worthless. He understood her inside and out. When she was pregnant with Zack, Bridge came home from work early everyday to make sure that she was perfectly fine and safe from harm. She loved him with every fiber of her being. She was glad that she had chosen Bridge. In her eyes, he was perfect. Well, maybe not completely perfect, but who was?

All these thoughts swirled through her mind as she tried to fall asleep. Bridge could feel the massive waves of emotion and thoughts. He was a little worried. He looked over at her lying there, and noticed that she wasn't asleep. He sat up, concerned.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" he inquired.

She sighed. "I love you."

"Um, I know that, but that wasn't the question. I asked you why you weren't asleep, but you responded with an answer that wasn't consistent with the actual question I asked in the first place which was why you weren't asleep..."

"What? I kinda lost you after 'question'." she said groggily, rubbing her eyes.

He paused for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. "Aww, I love you, too." He reached over and wrapped his arm around her as she snuggled close to him.

"Thanks for always letting me know that." She whispered into his ear as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep wrapped in her lover's arms...


End file.
